Did Ya Know?... An
American Red Cross Blood Drive will be held
on Thursday, January 8, from 11:30 to 6:00
p.m. in the Church of the Nazarene, 2000
Grand, Carthage, MO.

Did Ya Know?... The
Carthage Humane Society will hold a board
meeting on Thursday, January 8 at 6:30 p.m.
at the Shelter. This meeting was rescheduled
due to the holidays.

Did Ya Know?... A
Teen Pancake Feed Fundraiser will be held
Saturday, January 10 from 6:30 to 11 a.m. in
the gym of the First Church of the Nazarene,
2000 Grand Ave. All donations go towards
upcoming events.

Anyone will be glad to admit
that he knows nothing about beagling, or the
Chinese stock market, or ballistics, but there is
not a man or woman alive who does not claim to
know how to cure hiccups. - Robert Benchley

A young boy asked President
Hoover for his autograph. The President agreed.

When he had finished signing
his autograph, the boy held out four more pieces
of paper. "Could you sign four more
times?" he asked.

"Why?" Hoover asked.

"I can get one Babe Ruth
autograph for five of yours," the honest
youngster answered.

1909INTERESTING MELANGE. A Chronological Record of Events as they have
Transpired in the City and County since our last Issue.

Rain Comes as a
Surprise.

Carthage People
Awakened by the Patter on the Shingles.

A heavy shower of rain
which began falling shortly after 4 oclock this
morning came as a decided surprise to Carthage people who
were awakened by "the patter of rain upon the
shingles." The surprise was due to fact that the
skies were absolutely clear up to midnight last night,
and nobody had supposed there would be rain within 12
hours, at least. The showers continued intermittently
during the early morning hours but there was little
change in the mildness of the temperature.

Rectors Wife
Entertains Auxiliary.

The womens auxiliary
of Grace Episcopal church met for the first time
yesterday afternoon in the new parish house of the
church, and after the business meeting Mrs. F. O.
OMeara, wife of the rector, pleasantly entertained
them and served refreshments.

The City Council
Public Works Committee met on Tuesday afternoon
and approved a motion to forward to Council an
amendment to City code that would allow for City
control of excessive odor emissions. Excessive
odor emissions by some factories in Carthage have
previously been monitored by the Missouri
Department of Natural Resources, but it has
recently been the suggestion of City officials
that conducting the regulations in-house would
allow for more timely and effective control.

During the
previous meeting the committee instructed City
Attorney Nate Dally to assemble a draft of the
amendments to the Citys current
"nuisance" ordinance. On Tuesday the
committee reviewed that draft. City Administrator
Tom Short noted that the ordinance would provide
for three methods of air quality evaluation.

The first method
is based on Springfields city code, in
which offensive odors are detected by groups of
citizens. The ordinance says that when 25% or
more of a sample of 10 or more people, or 75% of
a sample of less than 10 people believe the odor
to be objectionable, it will be considered
objectionable and action will be taken.

The second method
for detection calls for the use of equipment,
including a scentometer. The scentometer, and a
newer piece of equipment called the Nasal Ranger,
allow air to be sampled at variable ratios of
dilution. The current threshold used by DNR to
check air quality is 7 to 1, being 7 parts
filtered air and 1 part unaltered air. City
officials have for some time been attempting to
persuade DNR to lower the threshold, but have not
been successful. The code, as approved by the
committee, would set the ratio at 5 to 1.

The third method
allows for odors to be detected by the City Code
Officials.

The ordinance sets
a fine at $500 per day for companies violating
the odor regulations, and also allows some
authority for revocation of business license and
injunctive relief.

City Administrator
Short said he felt the ordinance was "fairly
straight-forward."

The committee
unanimously approved the motion to forward the
ordinance amendments to Council, with a
recommendation to approve.

Further discussion
was held regarding the purchase of the Nasal
Ranger. Short told the committee that the
estimated cost for the unit itself, the custom
dilution ratio settings, and a years worth
of disposable filters and seals would cost
approximately $2,500.

Mayor Jim Woestman
said he felt the equipment was necessary for the
enforcement of the ordinance, and added that $250
had already been donated by a citizen to be used
towards the purchase. The committee agreed to
additionally forward to Council a motion to allow
for the purchase of the Nasal Ranger, with the
$2,500 coming from the Council Contingency fund.
The committee noted that any additional donations
received for the purchase would lessen the impact
on the City budget.

Mornin'
Ive never known anyone who could explain
why a dog circles several times for it
finally lays down. Id have ta guess that it
has somethin to do with the instinct to not
perch on some object or critter that might be
harmful.

The old story of the coon dog
sittin on the porch howlin comes ta
mind.

"Somethin out in the
woods makin that dog howl like that?"
asked a visitor.

"No," says the owner,
"the dog just sat on a nail and is too lazy
to get up."

Maybe dogs circle cause
once they lay down, they dont want ta have
ta move again. Just checkin for nails.

I suppose even more
interestin is the fact that us humans will
sit and watch an animal goin round in
circles tryin to figure out why.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin.

Sponsoredby
Metcalf Auto Supply

Click & Clack Talk
CarsBy Tom & Ray Magliozzi

Dear Tom and Ray:

We recently bought a 2008
Prius, and just love it. But were having a
bit of a discussion about how to use the
"B" on the gearshift. I say its
like a downshift, and you should use it only
temporarily, while going down a steep hill or
coming to a stop. My husband thinks its
fine to drive most of the time in the
"B" mode, since it regenerates
electricity and recharges the battery. Whos
correct? Thanks for your help! - Gayle

TOM: Gale, youre 100
percent right, and your husband, unfortunately,
has his head up his brake line.

RAY: When you shift into the
"B" mode, you increase the drag created
by the regenerative portion of the brakes. And
while that extra friction does produce some
electricity to help recharge the battery, the
"B" modes primary purpose is to
stimulate downshifting, or engine braking, when
youre going down a long, steep hill.

TOM: The "B"
modes secondary purpose is to give guys
something to fiddle with while theyre
driving. And after THAT comes creating more
electricity.

RAY: In any car, hybrid or not,
when you go down a long, steep hill, you run the
risk of overusing your brakes. That makes the
brakes overheat, which leads to brake fade (when
the brakes become less effective). Even worse, if
the brakes overheat badly enough, the brake fluid
can boil, and cause the brakes to fail
completely. So its always recommended that
you downshift in those circumstances, rather than
ride the brakes.

TOM: But since the Prius has an
unusual propulsion system and transmission,
theyve essentially "faked" a
downshift mode for just that purpose.

RAY: So, unless youre
driving under conditions where you specifically
need the equivalent of engine braking, just leave
it in "D", Gayle. But try not to rub it
in too much.